5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not what I was hoping for..., December 24, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Keyboard Studies (Audio CD)
I have to admit that I haven't spent as much time with this album as I probably should have, so take my review with a grain of salt.
As a pianist who had recently purchased the performing scores for Riley's Keyboard Studies (you can do so at terryriley.com), I purchased this album to use as a reference for my future interpretation of these pieces. Instead of performing these pieces live, Schleiermacher uses sequencers to multi-track various patterns on top of one another. While this does produce a much more involved texture than would by simply limiting oneself to two hands, I bought this recording to hear what the piece was supposed to sound like. To be fair, I do admire this pianist's creativity in putting these pieces together intuitively.
One other negative aspect of this album is the pianists' inclusion of an original composition combining actual phrases and/or stylistic markings from the music of Reich, Riley, and Glass. Although this might have its place somewhere in the musical world, this type of (excuse me) "bastardization" of other composers' work usually leaves me cold.
Again, to be fair, I own one other recording of Schleiermacher's work (Glass' Early Keyboard Music) and very much admire him for his contribution to the world of minimalist recordings. Although Riley is considered to be one of the four founding fathers of minimalism, this title should only apply to his earlier works; later works like Shri Camel and The Harp of New Albion aren't particularly minimalist. In this light, I think it's great having a recording available of one of the few truly minimalist Riley pieces.
In conclusion, I am happy to own this album (especially since it is one of the only recordings of the Keyboard Studies), but it wasn't exactly what I was looking for and possibly could have spared the last track. Please note that my complaints center around practical and philosophical musical concepts, not artistic merit: as mentioned above, I have not spent enough time with this recording to give an accurate review of this critical element.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
